'State stands third in HIV/AIDS prevalence'

He urged people to avoid promiscuous sex which was the primary cause of transmission of the virus. The Governor was speaking during the third edition of the UNICEF HIV/AIDS journalism award presentation here on Tuesday.

UNICEF in collaboration with Communication for Development and Learning (CDL) awarded two Kannada writers for their feature on HIV/AIDS on the occasion.
Dr Prof DK Mahabalaraju DK got the award for his report in the Sudha magazine on MSMs (Men having sex with men) and their need for accurate information on the virus, while Narayana Bhat won the award for his writing in Lokadhwani on the awareness level among tribal and adolescent girlsin Uttara Kannada.

The objective of the awards is to encourage the Kannada media to write on the subject. Such writing would provide rural people with information on HIV/AIDS, as studies showed that the disease was more prevalent in rural areas, said director of CDL Shangon Das Gupta.

P Saroja, President of Karnataka Network of Positive Persons (KNP+) and a jury member felt that the general quality of writing had improved and varied topics were covered this year.